This invention relates to projectile weapons.
More particularly, the present invention relates to muzzle brakes for use in reducing recoil on projectile weapons.
Muzzle brakes have been used in the past to reduce the recoil action of a gun when it is fired. Muzzle brakes employ the forward momentum of a pressure wave produced by expanding exhaust gas upon detonation of a cartridge. By deflecting some of such exhaust gas in a suitable manner, a forward impulse is generated on the brake and hence the barrel of the gun. This forward impulse balances, to some degree, the recoil impulse on the barrel of the gun.
A muzzle brake usually incorporates at least two transverse vanes for deflecting the exhaust gases. The inside of the brake communicates with the two vanes to receive the gases, such vanes being integral with the outside of the brake. When a projectile is fired, the propellant gases are guided by vents towards the vanes on which they exert a thrust thereby offsetting the gun barrel recoil.
Many and diverse muzzle brakes have been developed over the years. Many brakes attempt to compensate for the movement of a gun muzzle by providing an opposing force. Typically, gun barrels rise when fired due to the disposition of the center of mass relative the axis of the bore. To compensate, many muzzle brakes deflect more of the gas upward. While somewhat effective in reduce muzzle rise, gases are unevenly stripped from behind the projectile often resulting in uneven force exerted on the projectile. The uneven forces can result in inaccuracies through projectile yaw.
Additionally, removal of large amounts of material from a cylinder to form vents greatly weakens the structure of the brake. Often, the brake is weakened enough that a blow to the brake will result in a deformation. This is unacceptable as a deformed muzzle brake can present a significant chance of injury to the operator, as well as rendering the gun unusable.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved muzzle brake for projectile type weapons.
Another object of the invention is to provide a muzzle brake designed to improve the accuracy of the projectile type weapon.
And another object of the invention is to provide a muzzle brake which is safe and easy to use and which reduces the amount of firing noise.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a muzzle brake that uniformly disperses the propellant gases.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a self-tightening muzzle brake that is rugged and can be used with other accessories, such as sound suppressors, flash suppressors, etc.
Briefly, to achieve the desired objects of the instant invention in accordance with an embodiment thereof, provided is a muzzle brake for use with a gun having a barrel muzzle and a bore. The muzzle brake includes a cylindrically shaped hollow body having a rear end attachable to the barrel at the muzzle coaxially along the axis of the bore and a forward end. A plurality of longitudinally extending, helically shaped slots are formed through the body, the slots being substantially equally distributed about the body. Each of the slots ends in an angularly disposed end wall adjacent the forward end of the body and the end wall in each of the slots is angled generally toward the rear end from an inner periphery of the body to an outer periphery of the body.
To further achieve the desired objects of the instant invention, a preferred embodiment of a muzzle brake for use with a gun, having a barrel muzzle and a bore, includes a cylindrically shaped hollow body having a rear end and a forward end. The body has attachment apparatus adjacent the rear end for attaching the body to the barrel adjacent the muzzle coaxially along a longitudinal axis of the bore of the barrel. The cylindrically shaped hollow body defines an axially extending internal chamber with an inlet end and an outlet end and a transverse wall adjacent the forward end of the cylindrically shaped hollow body. A plurality of longitudinally extending, helically shaped slots are provided through the body in communication with the internal chamber. The slots are substantially equally distributed about the body and each of the slots ends in an angularly disposed end wall adjacent the forward end of the body, the end wall in each of the slots being angled generally toward the rear end from an inner periphery of the body to an outer periphery of the body.
In this preferred embodiment, the plurality of helically shaped slots each include first and second substantially parallel sidewalls defining an opening through the body with an axis offset from the axis of the bore. The offset and the helical formation of the slots causes propellant gases to uniformly swirl about the body and to produce a substantially rotary force on the body. The attachment apparatus and the rotary force are oriented so that propellant gases escaping through the helical slots tend to tighten the muzzle brake onto the barrel of the gun. The propellant gases also strike the transverse wall adjacent the forward end of the cylindrically shaped hollow body and the angularly disposed end walls of the slots to provide some relief of the normal firing recoil.